Method and apparatus for producing special electric fields



June 15, 1937.

B. RlCClONl 2,084,004

METHOD AND APFARATUS FOR PRDDUCING SPECIAL ELECTRIC FIELDS Filed Feb. 15, 1935 v 5 Sheets-She et 1 fiTTOR/VEYS June 15, 1937 g METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SPECIAL ELECTRIC FIELDS Filed Feb. 15, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet- 2 L2 9 6 y T .Yo L

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR .PRODUCING SPECIAL ELECTRIC FIELDS Filed Feb. 15. 1935 3 She ets-Sheet s N VE N 703 5/N00 P/cc /0A// Patented June 15, 1937 NT OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUS son raonncmd 'SPECIALELEOTRICFIELDS Bindo RicclonLiBome, Italy Application The present invention relates to a method and to the corresponding apparatus for producing.

very steep variations in electromagnetic and electrostatic fields and its object is to increase the exciting voltage on bodies, even those of small dimensions, and more particularly upon objects used in connection with biological and physico chemical tests.

The device may include several systems of in series. The apparatus is substantially formed of a simple or' primary circuit provided with spark gaps in which the discharge is started at predetermined intervals. The said primary circuit excites one or more circuits H (secondary, tertiary etc.) formedin the same way, that is with capacities and impedances in series, the values of which may be equal to or diflerent from those of the capacities and impedances of the M primary circuit.

The device is not adapted to produce current for distribution. .It'is' used for" producing .electrio and electrostatic flelds'havinga very steep gradient in a very small space into which 'cer- P tain objects may be placed for biological jand other experiments, suchas-seeds or cells. These objects are placed in the :spark gap of the innermost circuit.

The discharge circuit according to the inven:

' tion is fed from the secondary'circuit of a-step up transformer of the tension, the'primary circuit of which is provided with low tension 'alter- I nating current.

The starting of-the discharge within the aforesaid'spark gaps of the primary circuit may be eflected in twoways; that is, with spontaneous excitation by giving the. current, which feeds the primary circuit, an appropriate and sufllcient.

voltage to overcome the said intervals (feeding with variable voltage), or by causing the excitation to take, place by means of switches which close the circuit at a" predetermined moment (feeding with variable stantvoltagei. Electromagnetic and electrostatic fields having a very steep gradient, that is of the order of thousandths of a--' microsecond 'between the maximunrvalues and the minimum values, are produced between the terminals. of the last in duced circuit, which consists of' a simple condenser formed of armatures of suitable shape facing one another. In allcases the spark gap between-the said extremities of thelast circuit must have well defined values in respect of the multiple circuits with condensers and impedances voltage and with con- February 15', 1935, Serial No. 0.740 In Italy November 24, 1934 I characteristicsv ofthe stresses to be imparted upon the subjects.

In all induced elementary circuits the impedance is formed by .the discharge itself, and in -many cases the last 'circuit ofv the system is formedofitwo insulated spheres. In all, at least in all double systems, the increase of the voltage which excites the "system is produced in the secondary circuit.-

' In all the systems of circuits, of which the apparatus according to the invention ,is composed, the unavoidable resistance in series with the impedance and the capacity must have the least possible value, and in any case its.max-imum value shouldnot exceed a few ohms, for

the purpose of obtaining sharp'variations of the electromagnetic field. If, on the contrary, high resistances are added having the value of several megohms,- shunted upon the extremities of the various coupled circuits, these resistances have 'the effect of producing abrupt variations of the electrostatic field. f The apparatus according to the present invention will be'described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying diagrammatical drawings illustrating by way of example several embodimerits of the apparatus with various systems of electric circuits. In these drawings 1 shows a double circuit system for the production of impulse discharges.

Figs. 2 and 3 show two diilerent systems of multiple circuits, with four and three induced circuits respectively, and which are also designed for the production of impulse discharges. Figs. 4 and 5 show two difierent systems of circuits with variable voltage and provided with a switch having a predetermined constant speed, or with a synchronous switch if alternating current is employed. 7

Figs. 6 and 7 show triple and quadruple circuits, respectively, fed with variable voltage, and provided with a switch, as stated above.

Figs. 8 and 9 are two double and quadruple circuits, respectively, fed with continuous high voltage current.

Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13 show double, triple and quadruple circuits, respectively, fed with variable voltage and comprising a high resistance, and

Fig. 14 shows a quadruple circuit provided with a high resistance and fed with continuous high voltage.

In Fig. 1 b.t denotes the alternating low voltage current which feeds the primary circuit; T: is the transformer with high resistance and capacity uniformly distributed on the impedance,

for the generation of high voltage. current from 1 the primary circuit; PP represents the whole of the induced circuits according to the inven tion, in which is the capacity, L the impedance, r the resistance, C1-C1 are two capacities in the primary circuit, diflerent from each other, the difference .of which may in certain cases sink down to 5%; Z1-l2 are concentrated impedances inserted in the main circuit, T11'z being distributed resistances having a very low value (less than one tenth of an ohm) such resistances being due to the natural resistance of the conductingwires.

M, N are the extremities of the outer or prii5 mary circuit; H, K are the extremities of the inner or secondary circuit. There is a gap between the poles M and N in which the electric discharge takes place, thus influencing the poles H and K of the secondary circuit. The spark gap between the poles H and K of the secondary circuit is quite independent of the outer or primary circuit and becomes connected with it only when an electric discharge takes place between .the poles M and N .of-the outer -circuit. The.

intervals for the discharges of connection and insertion of the secondary circuit on the primary circuit are represented by D, d; their sparking 'over causes in a the discharge having the desired characteristics; e represents the'connection to the ground. In the described scheme the centre of the transformer generating the high voltage currents is connected to earth.

3 The system illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises two circuits, namely, an external circuit which includes the two outer balls M and N of the spark gap, and an intermediate circuit which comprises balls H, 11., located within the spark gap of the external circuit. No induction exists between the external circuit and the intermediate circuit. The same is also true as far as the systems illustrated in other figures of the drawings are concerned, where there is also no induction between the various intermediate circuits.

In the circuit system shown in Fig. 2, the terminals of the intermediate circuits S2 and S: as well as those of the central inner circuit S4 are inserted between the terminals of M1 and N1 of the outer circuit S1. The gap of the circuit S4. is the centre of discharge of all the circuits. As shown in the drawings these various circuits are arranged alternately on opposite sides of the spark gaps from which it will be apparent that there is no'inductive action between the various intermediate circuits. The ground connection is represented by the reference character e Fig. 3 shows another circuit system according to the invention, also fed with alternating low voltage current, which is produced by the transformer T. This transformer has the same 60 characteristics as the transformers disclosed above with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. The system illustrated in Fig. 3 contains only two induced'circuits, that is the secondary circuit 82 and the tertiary circuit S3. Allthe other reference characters like those indicated in the two preceding figures denote corresponding elements of the circuits described.

- In Fig. 1 the secondary circuit, and in Figs. 2 and 3 the secondary circuit, the tertiary circuit etc. are the elementary circuits, which in some examples may be formed only with two balls, which form the armatures of the condenser, while the discharge forms the impedance and the resistance of the circuit.

In the circuits shown by way of example in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and '1 the sparking over of the discharge in the spark gaps is obtained by causing the excitation to take place by means of a rotary switch'I. (shown for'simplicity's sake only in Fig. 4) having a predetermined constant speed, thus permitting to feed the circuit either with alternating current or with a current having a constant voltage. The rotary switch 1. shown in Fig. 4 is supplied with an alternating current and comprises upper and lower spark gaps S which become active at the peak of each wave of the alternating current. The angular speed of the rotary switch is synchronizedwith the wave period of the A. C. to attain this result. When a direct currrent is used, as shown, for example, in Figs. 8 and 9, the rotary switch L is provided at its periphery with a number of radial projections which pass close to the balls forming the spark gaps in the feeding circuit and thereby cause the actuation of these spark gaps.

In Fig. 4 'y and p are the two points at which the primary high voltage circuit should be interrupted, and the reference character bt indicates a source of alternating current. T is a step-up transformer, C1 is the capacity and l' and r are, respectively, the inductance and the resistance of the circuit, 82 indicating the endsof interruptionof the external or primary circuit. The arrows indicate the direction of the rotation.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show induced double, triple and quadruple circuits obtained in the manner described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, that portion of them, which lies before the points a: and 1 being omitted.

Figs. 8 and 9 show two further examples of circuits for obtaining electric fields having very steep variations, by applying to the primary circuit a continuous high voltage-current. In these circuits '1 and p are the points in which the said high voltage current is applied; 1. are two rotary switches having a constant speed, like those already described, inserted in series in the circuit, Fig. 8 representing a double circuit and Fig. 9 a quadruple circuit, that is provided with three induced circuits in the way described above.

Fig. 10 shows the example of a simple devicethe primary of which is fed with alternating high tension current. It is provided with a rotary switch 15, like that described with reference'to Fig. 4, and with a resistance R of several megohms shunted upon the primary circuit.

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 show partially examples of circuits similar to those of Fig. 10-, (in which the portion situated before x and 11 has been omitted) capable of working with variable high voltage eral megohms which is shunted on the primary circuit; 'the reference characters indicating the other elements of the circuit being the same as those'denoting corresponding parts in the other circuits.

Fig. 11 shows a double circuit, Fig. 12 a triple circuit and Fig. 13 a quadruple circuit, which correspond to the circuits shown'in Figs. 5, 6 and '1.

- respectively.

differs from that shown in 9 only because of 7 current. They. comprise a resistance R of seva resistance R of several megohms being inserted in it.

In all the systems of circuits described above a considerable increase of the tension, as compared with the one which excites the system, is obtained at the final discharge.

The apparatus according to the invention may be used in connection with biological tests to vary the electromagnetic and the electrostatic field inside the living cells so as to affect the characteristics of their development. In physicochemical experiments it may be usedfor the purpose of varying also the electric charges of the molecule and of the atom.

I claim:

1. A system for producing electric and magnetic fields which rapidly vary in value and di rection forthe treatment of small objects, said system comprising a number of oscillating circuits which have no inductive eifect one upon the other, a feed circuit, each of said oscillating circuits having a spark gap, the spark gaps of the oscillating circuits being arranged in series, said oscillating circuits comprising an outer circuit having a spark gap which encloses the spark gaps of all other circuits, any other spark gap of an oscillating circuit being situated within another spark gap constituting a part of another oscillating circuit, and means interposed between said feed circuit and said outer oscillating circuit for transmitting electrical energy from said feed circuit to said outer oscillating circuit to produce a discharge at desired intervals at the spark gap of the outer circuit, whereby the discharge at the spark gap of the outer circuit interconnects all other oscillating circuits, the object to be treated beingintroduced into the innermost spark gap;

2. A system according to claim 1, in which means for producing the periodical discharges transmit a periodically variable current whereby the voltage periodically reaches such values as are suflicient to secure the sparking through the air gaps provided in the outer olcillating circuit.

3. A system according to claim 1, in which the periodical discharges are obtained by means of a rotary switch having a constant speed of rotation, whereby the circuit through which flows the current is closed at the predetermined moment.

4. A system according to claim 1, in which a high resistance, of several megohms, is shunted upon the ends of one of said oscillating circuits.

5. A system according to claim 1, comprising a step-up transformer in said outer oscillating circuit, the middle points of its windings being grounded.

6. A system according to claim 1, comprising a step-up transformer in said outer oscillating circuit, in which the feeding winding is sub-divided into successive equal portions shunted between the line wires.

BINDO RICCIONI. 

